Ashes 2063

Ashes 2063 is a total conversion for the GZDoom engine developed by Vostyok. Set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with radiation, vicious mutants, and marauding gangs, the player takes control of a scavenger, or "scav", who loots abandoned buildings and militia camps for valuable items to sell at various settlements. Amid growing hostilities between gangs in the area, the scav embarks on a dangerous journey to determine the source of a mysterious radio signal that has been broadcasting from the ruins of the nearby abandoned and irradiated metropolis. A sequel, Ashes: Afterglow, was released in 2021.

Development of Ashes 2063 began in January 2015 and progressed steadily over the following years, until an initial release on September 23, 2018. The mod features ten levels, and being a total conversion, replaces virtually everything from the original game: there is an all new arsenal with a reloading system, new weapon types and powerups, an all-new cast of enemies with more advanced AI, friendly NPCs who can be talked to for information or lore, and a wide variety of locales including abandoned towns, dark underground passages, a bombed out highway, a crumbling city and secret military laboratories. A currency system is included wherein junk and other tools found in the levels can be sold as currency to several shops to obtain weapons, items and even upgrades. The mod also contains a fully drivable motorcycle in some of the maps, as well as an irradiation system taking the place of conventional damaging floors. Ashes 2063 contains a brand new soundtrack by well known composer John Weekley (PRIMEVAL).

An expansion pack called Ashes: Dead Man Walking was released by ReformedJoe on December 10, 2018, featuring four new maps and requiring the original Ashes 2063 TC to play. On October 21, 2021, a remastered version of the mod dubbed Ashes 2063: Enriched Edition was released, which revised and merged the expansion pack into the main mod as an additional episode, updated many of the gameplay mechanics and graphics to match the sequel, Afterglow, and made other various fixes and improvements.

Ashes 2063 was one of the runner-ups at the 2018 Cacowards.

Enemies

 * Pistol Vulture Thug:Replacing the Doom zombieman, this green-haired human enemy has the lowest hit points and damage dealt. In the original Ashes: 2063 and DMW, he shoots either the 9mm autoloader or the .45 revolver, leaving behind a pistol or a pack of heavy bullets, respectively, on his death. In Enriched, he shoots the 9mm autoloader exclusively, always leaving that pistol behind on his death.
 * In DMW Enriched, his name is Ripper Corporal, and he wears a black pirate hat.


 * Revolver Vulture Thug:A human enemy who looks a lot like Buck Rogers with his fancy golden helmet, and only appears in the Enriched version of Ashes. Shoots the .45 revolver, and leaves a few heavy bullets behind on his death.
 * In DMW Enriched, his name is Ripper Private, and he wears a red headscarf.


 * Vulture Outlaw:Replacing the Doom shotgun guy, this red-haired human enemy is slightly stronger and shoots a pump-action shotgun. Can kill you in no time, if not careful and without armor.
 * In DMW Enriched, his name is Ripper Sergeant, and he wears a blue helmet.


 * Pitfiend:Replacing the Doom imp, this mutant dog has big glowy eyes, and a close- and far-ranged attack. It will either bite you, or spit poisonous acid rings at you that completely defy the laws of physics as they will keep flying forever in a straight line until they hit a solid object. A little bit tougher to kill than the human enemies, the best weapons to deal with these beasts are the pump-action shotgun, or the sawed-off shotgun.


 * Cannibal:Replacing the Doom pinky demon, this bulky humanoid is decisively quicker on his feet than the other basic enemies. He will run towards you in a zig-zag pattern, then attack you with his crowbar when close enough -- all of that in order to eat you. Fight them using the jackhammer, in case you manage to find one. Else, use the crowbar, or shotgun.


 * Cannibal Master:Replacing the Doom baron of Hell, this enormous humanoid will use his master-blaster to fry your ass, literally. He shoots fireballs, leaving a gas cylinder behind on his death, but also has a close-ranged attack where he can push you back with a lot of force. Very tough to kill, and typically appears surrounded by a bunch of Cannibal minions. Yes, he also wants to eat you.


 * Trash Hag:Replacing the Doom spectre, this femme fatale is waiting to jump you, and eat you. In other words: She's a man-eater. Watch out for dark 'bushes' on the ground. When they start making their howling sounds, you better get ready for some serious action as they can easily surround you, and will immediately start to consume you. Viable weapons to fight them off are the shotguns, SMG or master-blaster. Of course, you may use the jackhammer, too, as long as you do not let several Trash Hags surround you.


 * Gasbag:Replacing the Doom lost soul, this slowly flying monster will charge itself at you, when in attack range, killing you with a self-detonation that will release a lot of poisonous acid. The .45 and the shotguns are viable weapons against these nasty nuisances.


 * Haunt:Replacing the Doom cacodemon, this supernatural entity flies around seemingly aimlessly, disappears in one spot, then reappears in another, and will shoot fields of dark energy at you, when time is right. In closer situations, it will simply push you back with some significant force. Use the shotguns, junker musket, SMG, or master-blaster to finish a haunt.


 * Cannibal Warlord:To win the game, you must kill them, The Twins.
 * Formerly a German synth-pop duo from the 1980s, the nuclear apocalypse made them evolve into something bigger, stronger, and meaner. Think of them as a cyberdemon replacement, because that's what they really are. And, while they may move as one, they certainly think twice at every step they take. Two minds living with just one heart. Or...?
 * In order to make you their feast, they will shoot all kinds of deadly things at you. You wouldn't want to circle-strafe them in a tight area, so find a clever position where their bullets and grenades and what else cannot reach you but that will allow you to shoot your ammo at them in an unrestricted and comfortable manner.

Weapons

 * Crowbar (slot 1):The default melee weapon. Has a longer range and more damaging attack than Doom's fist. The secondary fire is a slower, more powerful swing with a windup delay.


 * Jackhammer (slot 1):Replaces the chainsaw, doing more damage and with the addition of knock-back. Uses jackhammer fuel as ammo which cannot be found normally, though finding a second jackhammer will refill the fuel tank.


 * .45 revolver (slot 2):The starting pistol, though it is no slouch at all as a backup weapon. Has a 6-round capacity and better accuracy than most other weapons. Uses heavy bullets.


 * 9mm autoloader (slot 2):Dropped by some of the human enemies, the autoloader is faster than the revolver and has a 15 round capacity, but is much less precise and does less damage overall. Uses light bullets, and reloading before the magazine is empty allows one shot to be "chambered", setting the capacity to 16.


 * Pump-action shotgun (slot 3):Replaces the regular Doom shotgun. Has a tight circular spread pattern but only a six shell capacity and reloads slowly. Secondary fire is a "butt-stroke" melee attack. Uses shotgun shells as ammo and reloading when empty adds an additional delay to the reload cycle.


 * Sawed-off shotgun (slot 3):Replaces the combat shotgun. Has a wider spread than the pump-action but can fire both barrels at once with secondary fire. Only one sawed-off shotgun is available in episode 1, found in a secret area. Uses shotgun shells as ammo.


 * Machine-pistol (slot 4):Replaces the chaingun. Has an extremely high rate of fire (especially when fired "gangster-style" with the secondary fire) but suffers from high recoil and spread compared to the autoloader. It has a 32 round capacity as standard. Certain merchants in episode 1 and Dead Man Walking can also modify the weapon to add a suppressor, reducing recoil and sound radius. Uses 9mm ammo.


 * Master-blaster (slot 5):Replaces the rocket launcher. Shots arc and have a smaller radius than a rocket's, but do fire damage which can be more effective against certain enemies. Secondary fire is a flamethrower which has a much higher damage/ammo ratio, but a short range. Uses gas cylinders as ammo.


 * Pipebomb (slot 6):Replaces the normal rocket ammo pickup. Pipebombs are thrown like grenades after a short "lighting the fuse" animation, with a longer thrown range being achieved by holding down the fire key. This also reduces the bounce time and life of the projectile, with predictably fatal results if the player forgets to throw before the fuse runs out. Secondary fire places the weapon as a tripwire trap which activates when attacked or a monster contacts it. The player can carry 10 pipe bombs by default and they cannot be modified.


 * Junker musket (slot 7):Replaces the plasma rifle. A single-shot sniper rifle with a scope secondary fire. Uses slug ammo.


 * Battle rifle (slot 7):A rare weapon exclusive to the Dead Man walking expansion campaign. An official version of an optional weapon mod created by TheRailgunner, and based heavily on the rifle. Has a 20 round capacity and a short ranged scope secondary fire. Uses 7.62mm (sometimes referred to as .308) ammo.

Levels
Ashes 2063 Dead Man Walking
 * (tutorial)
 * (secret exit to DAM1)
 * (secret exit to MAP09)
 * (secret level)
 * (secret level)
 * (secret exit to MAP09)
 * (secret level)
 * (secret level)
 * (secret level)
 * (secret level)
 * (secret level)

Soundtrack

 * MAP00: "The Mender Haunts"
 * MAP01: "Wasteland"
 * MAP02: "Legions of the Dark"
 * MAP03: "Ghost Town"
 * MAP04: "Further"
 * MAP05: "Life Beneath It All"
 * MAP06: "Ghost Town"
 * MAP07: "To Ashes"
 * MAP08: "On the Prey"
 * MAP09: "The Mender Haunts"
 * DAM1: "Battle for the Dam"


 * MAP51: "Further"
 * MAP52: "The Mender Haunts"
 * MAP53: "Tension"
 * MAP54: "Wasteland [Alternate Mix]"
 * Title screen: "2063"
 * Intermission screen: "Edge of Humanity"